called LOGICOM Logic Systems
( www.LOGICOMLLC.com). Back in
the 80’s and 90’s I built computers
and networks, and sold components
and stuff. These days, LOGICOM is all
about cutting-edge industrial controls
— automated handling equipment,
automated mills, lathes, presses.

We do all phases of industrial
automation from the concept to the
mechanical design and layout, to the
electrical and electronic design, to
component specification, to PLC and
industrial PC programming, to
cabinet building, to installation, to
documentation, to training.

I love the design process with
industrial automation as much as I
did with combat robots. I love taking
a boring, accident-prone, dangerous
manual job and making it a safe,
efficient automated process.

SV: Any last words you’d like to
leave with our readers?

BN: I used to complain how
much money I wasted on combat
robots. The robots themselves, the
travel, the time off work, the event
arena, and all, literally hundreds of
thousands of dollars, but then I
realized it wasn’t wasted.

I look back at all the great
friends I made, all the great times I
had, everything that I have learned,
and realize that it was an incredible
journey.

I only wish that I had the
foresight as I traveled the journey to
realize how incredible it was, but
there was always a schedule to keep,
always a goal to meet, always a
chore to complete, and I couldn’t see
the forest for the trees. I single-mindedly pursued that goal with
blinders on ... and I missed most
of it!

One memory burned into my
mind was when my brother and I
rounded the back curtain to the main
arena of BattleBots. My robots were
doing well in Season 5 and we were
nearing the finals. We had been
rushing around like crazy getting the
robots ready, getting in line, making
sure of this, and checking that.

EVENT REPORT:

FIRST Orlando Regionals: A New Set of Heroes Emerges

● by Collin Berry

Another year of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics
competitions have completed, and I attended an event
in Orlando which was co-hosted by the University of
Central Florida and NASA. The FIRST competition
teaches high school students the value of STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics,
for the three of you who might be confused by that
acronym) education. It also aims to get the students
working as a team, cooperating, and learning the skills
it takes to enter the workforce.

Each year, teams are given a robotics challenge that
takes place in the form of a game. Teams have six
weeks to design, test, and build their robots in order to
compete in this game. This year, the game was called
Ultimate Ascent. The game takes place in two stages;
two minutes total.

First, the robots (groups of three per side) launch
Frisbees at goals that vary in point value. The first 15

seconds of the game is completely autonomous; points
are doubled in this period. The second aspect of the
game happens at the end. With the clock winding
down, the robots attempt to climb a pyramid. There are
three levels, again varying in point value. The robots
hang from a rung of the pyramid; they must be
completely off the ground in order to collect the points.

Teams have various strategies for completing this
goal. Some of the speedier robots unload their clips
quickly, and then make a mad dash towards the human
load zone (a team member is allowed to reload the
robot with Frisbees), while others collect loose Frisbees
from the arena floor.

Some teams have Frisbee shooters that are able to
be aimed; others have static launchers, choosing to
focus purely on the highest point goals on top of the
pyramid.

The team from Westminster Academy (Shark
Attack) used a static launcher, but they used an aiming